Terrazzo-flooring dividing strip



April 29, 1930. P. GALASSI TERRAZZO FLOORING DIVIDING STRIP Filed Jan. 18, 1928 jksyudle 6d ham! Patented Apr. 29, 1930 1 256 856 UNITED STATES PASQU'ALE GALASSI, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

'I'ERRAZZO-FLOORING DIVIIDING- STRIP Application filed January 18, 1928. Serial No. 247,620.

This invention relates to terrazzo and sim- In such places therefore, it has heretofore ilar floors and more particularly refers to been customary to add to the floor composiimprovements in dividing strips such as are tion, some ingredient or ingredients impartused in terrazzo floors for dividing the floor ing to it elfective anti-slip properties; for insurface into a number of panels or units, prostance, by adding a certain amount of alunducing a variety of decorative designs, at the dum, or carborundum or emery or quartz same time preventing or localizing cracks in sand, etc., to the ordinary mixture of marble the floor. I chips and cement, the resulting floor will have Terrazzo, granolithic and similar floors a surface possessing highly frictional and adusually comprise a lower bed or layer of conhesive properties. crete, cement, mortar or other suitable mate- On the other hand, floors thus produced rial which is spread in semi-liquid form of are not entirely satisfactory because their the proper consistency on the floor foundacost is much higher than that of ordinary tion, and an upper or finishing layer of betterrazzo floors and also because they quickly 15 ter grade material generally consisting of a and easily collect dirt and dust which can 65 mixture of marble chips and cement, by only be removed in part and with considermeans of which a good durable surface can able difficulty. be obtained as well as design and color eflects Furthermore, the appearance of such floors of great variety. is not as good as that of ordinary terrazzo In order to prevent or localize cracks in floors, their texture being darker and their the upper layer of the floor, the same is gensurface being rather dull. erally divided into a number of units or In another patent application entitled, panels by means of dividing strips arranged Flooring strip, filed simultaneously herewith, to form a predetermined design, Said dividl have described and claimed a special type ing strips generally consist of metal strips set of dividing strip comprising a metallic supon edge on or through the lower layer with porting member, and a heading carried theretheir upper edge level with the surface of the by, said heading being formed out of antifloor. The same are generally provided with slip material such as lead or some suitable suitable anchoring means and are also useful anti-slip composition. 0 as a gauge or means for delimiting the total Such a type of strip may be used in place depth of the finishing layer of the floor. of other strips of the ordinary type, and will The strips are generally made of a relaproduce novel decorative efiects, and will at tively soft metal, such as brass, the wearing the same time impart anti-slip properties to qualities of which are approximately equal the floor without materially increasing its 35 to those of the material out of which the floor cost or marring its appearance. proper is composed. Floors obtained in this The primary object of this invention is to manner are relatively inexpensive and durprovide a dividing strip of a novel and imable, they have a rich appearance and take proved construction which is relatively ina high polish; for this reason they are also expensive to manufacture and which is well 0 desirable from a sanitary standpoint because adapted for use in floors or pavements of they can easily be kept clean. large dimensions; said strip being adapted However, in a great many instances, the to impart desirable anti-slip properties to the extremely smooth surface of these floors is floors or pavements where they are employed, objectionable from the standpoint of safety, without materially affecting their cost of because on account of it the floors are apt to production and appearance. be rather slippery and may be the direct Another object of this invention is to procause of accidents, especially in public places, vide a new and improved type of dividing corridors and halls, and more particularly strip, said strip being formed out of a suitwhere the floor slopes down to an incline, in able anti-slip composition cast or molded or Stairways, etc. extruded in suitable sections and lengths. 109

A further object is to provide a floor dividing strip of a novel and improved design, comprising a body made of anti-slip composition, molded or cast or extruded in suitable sections and lengths, and an internal metallic core act ing as a reinforcement and binder for the entire structure.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear as the description proceeds and will be set forth and claimed in the appended claims.

Various embodiments of my invention are illustrated in the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is plan view of a typical terrazzo floor, showing how the strips are applied in position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view in perspective of a dividing strip embodying my invention;

Figs. 3, a and 5, are similar views of other strips of different designs also embodying my invention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of a terrazzo floor, with still another type of strip embodying my invention in position; and

7 is a sectional elevation of a similar floor illustrating still another dividing strip of a different construction.

My improved strip comprises essentially a length of anti-slip material such as lead, or a suitable composition such as cementitious material including an anti-slip aggregate, and a metallic core therefor, acting as a binder and reinforcement for the completed structure. The core is entirely embedded in the anti-slip material, or cement composition and therefore it can be made of inexpensive material such as iron or mild steel.

In Fig. 1, 1O designates a terrazzo floor, comprising a number of adjoining panels or units 11, separated by dividing strips 12.

In Fig. 2, I illustrate a strip comprising a relatively narrow body 13 of cementitious material including anti-slip aggregate, formed with a laterally extending flange 1% and having its lower end tapering down to an edge 15. Said body portion is obtained by forming or pressing the material about a suitable core 16, which is formed of corrugated sheet metal, having substantially a T section tilted to one side.

The structure thus obtained can be placed in position merely y forcing its lower por tion through the bed or lower layer of the floor until the lower surface of flange 1% comes to rest on the upper surface of said bed or foundation layer. The distance between the lower surface of flange 1 land the upper surface of body 13 is preferably made to correspond to the thickness of the finishing layer of the floor; so that wh en the strip is laid in position, its portion projecting above the surface of the foundation layer acts as a guide and gauge for the pouring of the finishing layer.

A strip of this character as stated, is preferably made of anti-slip material, but can also be made of ordinary cement if desired, when no anti-slip properties in the floor are required.

This type of strip is particularly suitable for large floors, pavements, sidewalks, etc., where ordinary brass dividing strips having the necessary rigidity and thickness would entail prohibitive costs.

My inventive idea may be applied in a number of ways, as the drawings show; for instance, in Fig. 3, I illustrate a strip, the body of which has a section composed of an upper trapezoidal portion 17, and a lower triangular section 13, oined along the lines 19, 20. The pointed lower end thus obtained, facilitates the placing of the strip in position through the foundation layer and the meeting edges 19, 20 serve to define the depth at which the strip should be laid.

At the same time the slanted sides of the trapezoidal portion 17 cause the strip to remain wedged in the material of the floor after setting, thus insuring the stability of the strip. The strip is also provided with a core having a cross section 21.

A somewhat similar strip is illustrated in Fig. 4 where the upper trapezoidal portion 22 and the lower triangular portion 23 are joined by an intermediate rectangular portion 24. In this case, the core is shown as being formed of a simple strip of sheet metal 25, preferably corrugated in order to increase its rigidity.

Still another type of strip is illustrated in Fig. 5 where a trapezoidal head portion 26 is provided with a depending narrower rib portion 27 having a pointed lower end 28, the strip being also in this case provided with a core 29.

In Fig. 6, 30 designates a floor foundation, 31 the floor foundation layer or bed, and 32 the finishing layer of the floor. The strip 33 illustrated, is somewhat similar to the one shown in Fig. 2, except that it has two lateral flanges 34-, 35, instead of one, the body of the strip being built about a core having a cross section 36.

It will be observed that the lower portion of the strip is inserted through the foundation layer of the floor and that the strip re mains supported by said foundation layer, when the lower surface of flanges 34, 35, reaches the upper surface of said foundation layer. This also insures a correct vertical alignment of the strip, and defines the depth of the finishing layer.

The upper surface 37 of the strip will therefore be on a level with the upper surface 88 of the floor. t will also be observed that the two flanges act as anchoring means for the strip, preventing the same from coming off after the floor has set.

A similar application is shown in Fig. where 39 is the floor foundation, 40 is the foundation layer and ll is the finishing layer. T he strip 42 shown, is made with a rail section, comprising a trapezoidal head 43, a rib portion 44 and a flange portion 45 and its total height corresponds to the depth of the finishing layer of the floor. The body of the strip is built about a core portion 46 having a downwardly extending rib member 47, outwardly projecting from the lower surface of flange 45. This provides a type of strip which can be laid in position without any difficulty, its rib member 47 being very thin and easily inserted through the foundation layer even when its material has reached a high degree of consistency; furthermore, it provides a lighter construction than those previously described.

As stated in the course of this description, although strips made according to my in vention are preferably of an anti-slip nature, it is within the scope of my invention to produce them out of any suitable material. such as cement, for instance, independently of whether it possesses anti-slip properties or not.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that my inventive idea may be applied in a number of ways, and therefore, the drawings will be understood as being intended for illustrative purposes only and not in a limiting sense. I accordingly reserve myself the right to carry my invention into practice in all those ways and manners which may enter, fairly, into the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a preformed floor strip for terrazzo floors or the like for dividing the floor composition into panels conforming to a desired design, comprising an individual unitary straight strip comprising cementitious material including anti-slip aggregate to present an anti-slip surface, adapted to meet an adjoining strip of the same construction at any angle necessary to produce the desired design in the floor.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a preformed floor strip for terrazzo floors or the like for dividing the floor composition into panels conforming to a desired design, comprising an individual unitary straight strip comprising cementitious material including anti-slip aggregate to present an anti-slip surface, adapted to meet an adjoining strip of the same construction at any angle necessary to produce the desired design in the floor, said strip having lateral projections for anchoring the strip.

3. A terrazzo or similar floor comprising a body of floor composition comprising marble chips and cement and a plurality of individual straight strips for dividing said body into a plurality of panels conforming to a desired design, and for imparting antislip properties to said floor, each strip formed of cementitious material including anti-slip floor.

PASQUALE GALASSI, 

